Thanks to a previous thread from Rich, I was listening to Chopin's Fantasie-Improptu in C Sharp Minor, Op 66 tonight. This is one of my most favorite pieces of music. As I said in Rich's thread, I think it's one of the most amazing 5 minutes and 10 seconds of music ever written. I mention the time because so much varied emotional content is packed into this brief piece. And the B section is in such stark contrast to the A section, yet they are integral in telling the story that Chopin is trying to convey.

Here it is on YouTube. You may want to turn the volume up and close your eyes and just listen.

My father was Polish and, as a boy, our house was always filled with Chopin's music. I was born in 1954 and so grew up when the Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys and other bands of that era were exciting most other kids my age. Do you know, that music did very little for me at that time - I would always go back to the complex beauty of Chopin or Liszt, maybe not Mozart - "Too many notes!" Name that film.

It wasn't until the late 60s and early 70s with the advent of Prog Rock (Yes is still my favorite band by a long way) and early fusion in the shape of Return to Forever's "Where Have I Known You Before" that I started to get into modern music. To this day, I still find 60s music a big turn off (sorry to those of you for whom this sounds like sacrilege), but at least I was shown the light by two great bass players - Chris Squire and Stanley.

... which is why I like Chopin so much. Our main phone in the house has its ringtone set to the topsy-turvy melody of that piece in c# - I'm amazed how they did that with just a very basic tone generator.